jdk3 -- I'll share my experience with the 3,000 acre Shawnee burn of April 2009.
I researched the Shawnee Forest burn (largest OH forest fire in acres) and got several burn area maps and overlaid onto Google earth imagery. This I blew up and printed out and taped together to have my own burn map I could use as I was unfamiliar with the area.
In April, 2010 I did a day long trip with my nephew and found nothing. It (soil moisture) was too dry. I blew a whole day what with three hours drive time (both ways) from central OH.
Locals who hunt that area with frequency may be able to share a different experience set, but I've heard no one share it.
I wondered if year 2 or even 3 after the fire might have been better, but I was unwilling to invest the (drive) time.
My experience with dead trees (as a subset of disrupted areas) leads me to conjecture that perhaps a better possibility would be to hit timbered areas 1, 2, and/or 3 years after they've been cut.
What makes me say this is my experience of having a huge Black Cherry in creek-bottom land get toppled/killed by a lightening strike. In year 2 or 3 after that and for two years running, after it started, it produced a honey-pot of morels.
So, how is this any different that the timbering of land. With the timbering, especially clear cutting, you have a <strong>huge</strong> concentration of (the equivalent of) dead trees. The state has areas of clear-cutting on state land each year. This is a continual source of possible fertile hunting. No one has talked about this that I've heard.
I've not explored this possibility as I developed my own successful hunting strategies which don't depend on fires or timbering.
Still curious, though.
